Page 46 - Magazine August 2021

Article Contractors News

How the green future of the Middle a circular economy model that is essential to address this would contribute to improve the health of soils that are in

climate crisis and the overexploitation of resources. I see need of organic matter as well as to close the natural cycle
East can benefit from the water´s these plans as a great opportunity to apply different ways of that connects the city with the countryside. A good example

where we have applied this principle is at La Escalerilla
circular economy in the water cycle such as:
circular economy Water reuse water treatment plant in Arequipa (Peru).
Sludge generated at sewage treatment plants or desalination

Thanks to the innovative technological solutions in the area treatment plants is rich in natural minerals that can be used
By Julio de la Rosa, ACCIONA ME Business Development of water reuse, it is possible to optimize tertiary treatment as well as a fertilizer.

processes and deliver solutions for the burgeoning demand Our RAMSES Project, which emerged as a result of
Director for our water solutions of water for agricultural uses, urban irrigation, recreational implementing efficient solutions to continue re-using the

activities, replenishing aquifers and protecting them from treated wastewater effluent as a main source of irrigation
saline intrusion. We are constantly researching technological water proved to be so necessary in areas of great water
The dish is served –water scarcity– and region as a whole. developments for the reuse of wastewater—one example are stress. As quality requirements for re-generated (effluent)
the main ingredients are: limited natural The Saudi Green Initiative entails the biological membrane reactors—to allow for a more extensive water used for irrigation becomes more demanding, we
resources, increased droughts, global planting of 10 billion trees in the Kingdom,
and sustainable use of purified water. shall need additional processes that will push treatment
population growth, a change in the restoring 40 million hectares of degraded Besides, this water reuse, depending on the treatment costs upwards. Therefore, it is our duty to continue working
consumption patterns and all that seasoned land, generating 50% of electricity from
applied, can be full of nutrients that will reduce the use on technologies and processes that enable wastewater for
by a relentless climate change. It has been renewables by 2030 and eliminating of chemical fertilizers, minimizing the potential impact agriculture to be re-used efficiently, taking into account
simmering for decades and now we have to more than 130 million tons of carbon to natural aquifers. The objective would be to return this the responsibility we have as a leading water treatment
take the necessary actions to stop and revert emissions. Under the Middle East Green resource to the environment with a level of quality similar or company to fight the global warming that our planet is

the situation that otherwise will cause an Initiative, 40 billion trees will be planted even higher than the one it had before being used, as well suffering. Another strong point of the project is that it sets
irreparable damage to the environment. in the region, 200 million hectares of as to find a value for the pollutants that the water contains out to maximize resources, re-using many of them again in

In the last few weeks of 2021, we have seen degraded land will be restored and 94% derived from its use. the same process and thereby promoting its circular nature.
the governments of KSA and UAE launch a Julio de la Rosa of rubbish will be treated with the most The catalysts for these eco-designs are with no doubt, The RAMSES Project - named by combining part of the

number of green initiatives in order to protect sustainable technologies, reducing the innovation and technical excellence. We have managed to initials of the full name in English (Enhanced Reclaimed
the environment and to continue their fight against climate carbon emissions by 60%.
increase the internal consumption of recycled, reused and wAter quality through MainStream and Aerobic treatment
change. These initiatives, which are part of the Vision 2030 reform rainwater to up to 44% of the total water used in its facilities, using Supported biomass growth) - developed by ACCIONA,
The Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan, an outline of how the strategy, will place Saudi Arabia at the center of regional
based on the principles of the circular economy. In our has been partly funded by the European Commission
Emirate will develop over the next 20 years, envisages efforts to meet international targets on climate change wastewater treatment plants, we have reached the highest through the LIFE program and carried out in a WWTP at the

large-scale changes to the landscape and the skyline in mitigation, as well as it will help this country to achieve its
level of reused water so a high efficiency and sustainability is South of Spain.
order to promote a sustainable urban development. The own goals.
a reality now. In Egypt, in four of our wastewater treatment Under this entire context, it is necessary to make an effort
Plan envisions the green and recreational areas dedicated The Saudi Vision 2030 has already demonstrated the plants (WWTPs), we have managed to reuse purified water to conceive water as a key element in the concept of the
to public parks to double in size, around 60% of Dubai to Kingdom’s determination to significantly reduce CO2
equivalent to that originated from a population of 500,000 circular economy, considering the environmental impacts
become nature reserves and includes several new “green emissions through the concept of the carbon´s circular inhabitants, and then use it for irrigation. throughout its life cycle and managing them from the
corridors”. economy.
beginning. We need a fundamental new approach with the
In the neighbor country, two new Saudi initiatives are All these green initiatives are going to need a well- Transforming sludge into resources right technology and legal framework, because what was
generating buzz and enthusiasm for environmental designed maintenance and sustainable plan including the
Driven by innovation, solid waste generated in a wastewater considered a worthless waste until now, can be transformed
protectionism and climate change mitigation far beyond the participation of all stakeholders with a people-centered treatment plant can be used as a fertilizer for agriculture. The into a valuable sustainable resource.

Kingdom’s borders. Unveiled by Crown Prince Mohammed mindset. The United Nations forecasts are that the planet
waste removed from the treatment plants has an important Undoubtedly the Middle East region, with some of the
bin Salman at the end of March, the Saudi Green and Middle will have a water deficit of 40% between now and 2030 if
content of organic matter and nutrients (mainly nitrogen and world›s largest oil exporting countries, has started its own
East Green initiatives call for regional cooperation to tackle we continue with the current consumption habits. In this phosphorus) that is of high value for agricultural uses. This trip to a greener future showing us the path to follow.
the environmental challenges facing the Kingdom and the situation, it is necessary for the society to move towards

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